1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to personal care compositions such as hair conditioning compositions which are cationic water-in-oil emulsions which have a sparkling pearlescent appearance due to the presence of irregular platelet-like crystals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pearlescing agents are sometimes included in personal care compositions such as hair conditioners and shampoos to make them more attractive to the consumer. These conventional agents include ethylene glycol monostearate, ethylene glycol distearate, guanine, bismuth oxychloride on mica and the like. Suspended fish scales (guanine) can give a sparkling effect to such compositions, but are dependent on natural sources. U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,207 to Preston teaches a pearlescent shampoo where the pearlescing agent is a fatty acid ester like myristyl myristate or cetyl myristate which is added to the shampoo base from a substantially anhydrous solubilizing agent such as a surfactant. The pearlescent effect is observed after about 5 days waiting time which is unlike the direct use of myristyl myristate taught in Preston's earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,096. Columns 1-2 of the '207 Patent further discuss the state of the art relative to pearlescing agents in cosmetic compositions.
FIG. 1 of this Specification is a photomicrograph at 400.times. magnification of a commercially available shampoo product sold by the Procter and Gamble Company under the name "PERT(.RTM.) Shampoo" which contains glycol distearate, i.e., ethylene glycol distearate. The pearlescing agent produces a uniform pearlescence to produce a shiny uniform sheen.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,320,133 to Suga et al. teaches a pearlescent face lotion. A phenol compound and a monohydric alcohol are said to be required to get floating pearlescent crystals of fatty acids in the lotion. Example 1 has 5 parts of stearic acid, 2 parts of linoleic/linolenic acid and 0.5 parts of decyl alcohol (93.3:7.7 ratio of fatty acid to fatty alcohol). Example 2 has no decyl or other fatty alcohol, but is said to be pearly. Example 3 has ethoxylated/propoxylated cetyl alcohol, but no other fatty alcohols. None of the examples contain quaternary ammonium salts, but all do contain significant amounts of alkanolamines to obtain a composition of weak alkalinity. This differs from my invention as will be explained further below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,122 to Hutcheson et al. does not indicate that the conditioning shampoos it teaches are pearlescent. The product is composed of an organic synthetic detergent plus a saturated fatty acid like isostearic acid that is neutralized at least in part. Adjuvants such as fatty alcohols (e.g., cetyl alcohol or stearyl alcohol) can be present in an amount of up to 5% by weight, but the only reason for inclusion given is to "impart desired qualities".
A number of patents describe using fatty alcohols and fatty acids in hair conditioners and shampoos, some of which further contain fatty alkyl quaternary ammonium compounds:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Comment ______________________________________ 2,968,628 Reed Examples 3 and 11 3,149,042 Habicht et al. Example 4 3,502,769 Fukuhara Example 2 4,374,125 Newell Example 3, also has quaternary 4,551,330 Wagman et al. Formula B has quaternary, cetyl alcohol and stearic acid (6/9.4 acid/alcohol) 4,608,392 Jacquet et al. Examples 8, 15 and 16 have stearic acid/cetyl alcohol, highest is 75/25 4,614,200 Hsiung et al. Example 3 3,651,931 Hsiung Example 3 has 95.7/3.3 oleic acid/lauryl alcohol 4,777,039 Lang et al. Pearlescent conditioner with quaternary plus fatty alcohol, no fatty acid 4,357,141 Grollier et al. Hair dyes with polymeric quaternary plus fatty acid (oleic) and fatty alcohol (octyldodecyl) at 2/1 or lower acid/alcohol ratios 4,201,766 Grollier et al. Polymeric quaternary, optionally has quaternary compound, Formulas 2g, 3c & 3g; col. 9 teaches fatty acids and fatty alcohols ______________________________________
Further representing the state of the art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,155,591 (Hilfer); 4,007,261 (Sorrentino et al.); 4,278,657 (Tezuka et al.); 4,345,080 (Bolich); 4,421,740 (Burton); 4,478,853 (Chaussee); 4,493,824 (Abe); and 4,701,322 (Dixon et al.).